Under the baobab: Wishing all happy holidays, however they’re celebrated

Happy holidays. December is a time for endings and beginnings.

To celebrate the season and raise funds, the Penn State School of Theatre is presenting “A Christmas Carol” adapted and directed by Rick Lombardo and featuring SOT faculty, staff and members of the community. It opens Monday night at the Playhouse and runs through Dec. 21.

Happy Hanukkah to our Jewish sisters and brothers, as candles were illuminated from Dec. 7-15. This year was particularly difficult considering what’s going on in Israel and Palestine.

Our Mexican neighbors observed the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12. The Church of the Good Shepherd in Port Matilda celebrated the event with the Mariachi Esmeralda Band. On Jan. 6, Dia de los Reyes Magos (three kings) will continue the holy days.

In India, people celebrate Pancha Ganapati, a modern Hindu festival that honors the five-faced Maha Ganapati, the Lord of Categories. It will last five days from Dec. 21-25. During this family centered holiday, family members work to mend past mistakes and bring Lord Ganesha’s blessings of joy and harmony into the five realms of their life, a wider circle each day: family, friends, associates, culture and religion.

In China, winter solstice is celebrated with the yin and yang festival of Dongzhi, which literally means winter’s arrival. It is a time when families feast together.

In December, Buddhists around the world celebrate Bodhi Day, Buddha’s Enlightenment Day. It commemorates when Siddhartha Gautama attained awakening or enlightenment, some 2,600 years ago. Bodhi Day is celebrated in a calm and quiet way. Buddhists will often spend time meditating and praying, thinking about the Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths. Buddhists might decorate a Bodhi tree with lights and statues of the Buddha displayed around the house.

In Japan, Omisoka is commemorated on the last day of the year. Important activities are completed to start the new year fresh. Some of these include house cleaning, repaying debts, purification and bathing. In modern times families and friends often gather for parties, including the viewing of the over four-hour Kōhaku Uta Gassen “Red/White Singing Battle” on NHK, or more recently to watch large mixed martial arts matches. This custom has its roots in the ancient Japanese culture surrounding toshigamisama or toshitokusama, which revolved around the practice of showing reverence toward the gods of the current and upcoming years.

In Iran, Persia, Shab-e Yalda is a festive time for celebrating at home with loved ones as the longest night of the year gives way to light – a symbolic triumph of good over evil.

Yule is a pagan holiday that goes back thousands of years, a winter festival celebrated by the Germanic peoples of Germany and Scandinavia on the winter solstice. In modern times, Yuletide was rebranded and reformulated by Christians and renamed Christmastide.

Kwanzaa, which means first fruits, is celebrated primarily in the African American community from Dec. 26- Jan. 1. The seven-day celebration of African roots is anchored by seven principles known as the Nguzo Saba, which aim to inspire Black people to be united, self-determined, accountable for their communities, financially invested in Black-owned businesses, purposeful with their lives, creative and full of faith.

And Christmas is celebrated by 2 billion Christians all over the world as the day Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, bringing light and hope to the world. Joy to the world, the savior has come. Sorrowfully though, not this year. This year there will be no joy in Bethlehem. It is closed because of the war, death and destruction in Gaza.

Sisters and brothers, no matter where you are from or who you may or may not worship, I wish you joy, love and happiness. May we all be blessed with peace.

Charles Dumas is a lifetime political activist, a professor emeritus from Penn State, and was the Democratic Party’s nominee for U.S. Congress in 2012. He was the 2022 Lion’s Paw Awardee and Living Legend honoree of the National Black Theatre Festival. He lives with his partner and wife of 50 years in State College.